HMS Marchestra
The HMS Marchestra was a vessel in service with The Royal Allegiance Navy before and during the Swarm War. History An ancient relic of different times, the HMS Marchestra was the last of her kind in the universe. During the Reformation War, dozens of these ships saw action against rebel forces throughout Allegiance space. Eventually, through mothballing, all but her were scrapped for parts. Marchestra-class The Marchestra-class were immense, unstoppable warships which served during the Reformation War, as fleets in their own right. One could engage a flotilla and have decimated their numbers within an hour. However, they were not without their flaws. They could not mount any prow-based weaponry, they were so large that maneuvering was literally impossible. They cost a colossal amount to repair and maintain, and they were seen as a symbol of the Allegiance's total domination, something which the rebels exploited through propaganda. One by one these ships were decommissioned and broken up for enough parts to build an entire task force. As these immensely powerful but hugely impractical ships were retired, one remained in service. It was used primarily as a mobile command post, acting as any planetary command would do, only on a movable platform. The scrapping of the Marchestras in favour of more practical warship designs freed up resources for three hundred and forty-seven new warships each to be created. ''HMS Marchestra'' The only ship left in service, the HMS Marchestra, the lead ship of her class, was over three hundred years old at the time of the Swarm War. A replacement for the Marchestra or her class was never planned, and she was rarely put into actual combat, usually accompanying a fleet but relaying orders far from the battlefield. She was constantly updated with new technology to keep her up to date. Her last refit was in 2724, when she was outfitted with an additional 2500 point-defence Particle Cannons. She was present at numerous battles throughout the Swarm War, in later years being forced into combat due to a lack of other naval units. Often her presence was enough to win a battle but other times she engaged the enemy fleets. She served with distinction until her destruction at the Third Battle of Thera in 2866. Her commander was Admiral Evan Sanders, who commanded the 5th Sector Fleet from her. This fleet was also lost during the battle. Trivia It was the Marchestra that led scientists to reconsider whether zero-point energy was actually viable for starship powerplants. Up until the Marchestra's introduction, the only zero-point generators had been the massive chambers powering planets, 120km across and twenty high. Faced with the impossible challenge of powering a ship as big as the Marchestra, with power requirements similar to those of a planet, designers turned their attention to how actual planets were powered. After decades of research a zero-point generator was developed that was small enough to be employed on a starship (it was actually 2km long). Eventually, development led to the stage where all warships save for the smallest were powered by zero-point energy. Category:Individual Ships